


Sugar and Spice and All Things Nice

by avocado_aficionado



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Athletic Trainer Iwaizumi Hajime, Canon Compliant, Childhood Friends, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Fluff, Getting Together, M/M, Post-Canon, Pro Volleyball Player Oikawa Tooru, i'm such a sap omg
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-29
Updated: 2020-11-29
Packaged: 2021-03-09 20:47:17
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,467
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27542563
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/avocado_aficionado/pseuds/avocado_aficionado
Summary: It began when they were little kids. Iwaizumi always ended up caving and saying yes to whatever shenanigans Oikawa dragged him into. So when he's asked to go to a wedding cake tasting as hisfiancé, the impending yes dies out on his tongue.
Relationships: Iwaizumi Hajime/Oikawa Tooru
Comments: 7
Kudos: 22





	Sugar and Spice and All Things Nice

**Author's Note:**

> My contribution to the fandom in the form of some self-indulgent fluff.

_Friday 17 th November 2017 _

_Irvine, California_

Iwaizumi always considered himself someone able to stand his ground and not be swayed in his convictions. Despite this, he often found it incredibly hard to say no to Oikawa.

The first time Iwaizumi said yes to Oikawa, it was mostly to get him to stop his incessant whining. They were 5 and Iwaizumi was playing at Oikawa’s house, when he made known his ridiculous request to play ‘King and his Knight’. They ended up getting scolded by Oikawa’s mother for using the just washed sheets she’d hung on the clothesline as capes. After that Iwaizumi swore that he wouldn’t just go along with Oikawa’s antics.

Until they 8, and Oikawa dragged Iwaizumi along to go see “this super cool foreign volleyball player” play in an exhibition match between Argentina and Japan. By then they both just started playing so it didn’t take much convincing on Iwaizumi’s part to come along. This one didn’t count.

After this, of course there were a few “let’s do look for aliens in the sky near the park Iwa-chan~” and “come onnn Iwa-chan this bakery makes the best milk bread we have to go!” Just small requests that Iwaizumi obliged him since he wasn’t doing anything anyways.

The next notable instance was Oikawa convincing Iwaizumi to actually play volleyball for real with him during their second year of elementary school. This was quite possibly the easiest ‘yes’ Iwaizumi had given and eventually became the catalyst for their future paths. And from then on, he hadn’t looked back and would honestly agree to anything his former teammate suggested. The fact that he would do anything for Oikawa scared him a little at times, but he chalked it up to being close friends for so long. That kind of bond was special and wasn’t something to scoff at. Their friendship has remained steady despite their distance (8,897 km to be exact) and although they were on differing paths, their end goals revolved around the ever-present game of volleyball.

Now, 24 and a full-fledged sports medicine graduate, he was fortunate enough to have landed an internship working under his idol Utsui Takashi. The internship started in a few weeks, so he decided to take some time off after all those years of studying and cramming. But old habits die hard, so here he was getting a little head start on his internship duties. Once Oikawa caught wind of this, he declared it was too long since he spent time with Iwa-chan and tagged along for a short break before he went back to Argentina for training. On the second day of their break (Oikawa slept most of the first day he arrived) Iwaizumi woke up to go to the gym and upon returning, he found the setter sitting on the kitchen counter tapping away at his phone.

“Iwa-chan~” Oikawa chirped as he flounced over on the to where Iwaizumi was sitting on the couch post shower. He was reading an article on ‘the relation between jump biomechanics and patellar tendinopathy’ before being interrupted. “Whatcha doing?” his words seemingly innocent, but Iwaizumi knew his friend long enough to discern when his tone implied something else.

Namely shenanigans.

Iwaizumi didn’t look up in response, his eyes scanning the journal article, “Just some research for treatment programs,” _and for idiots who don’t know how to properly rest and overwork their knee._

He got up to the paragraph on the take-off and landing phase dynamics of a spike jump, when said idiot reached out to close his laptop screen. Iwaizumi felt a sigh leave his lips.

High school Iwaizumi probably would’ve grabbed the nearest object to throw at Oikawa.

“This is so much more important than how much cardio Ushiwaka needs to do. Just tell him to take a long walk off a short pier!” Oikawa continued indignantly, arms crossed and nose in the air.

Maybe he’s due for a good headbutt...for old time's sake.

“Just because I gonna be interning with Ushiwaka’s dad doesn’t mean I’m doing his son’s training regimen, dumbass. He’s on a Japanese V league team isn’t he?”

“Well for all I know you two are best friends now, taking selfies and all…you never take selfies with me!”

Of course he would bring that up. “Are you still going on about that picture Pettykawa?” he smirked.

“Wow that’s a new one Iwa-chan~ College has really expanded your bank of insults!” Oikawa ducked to avoid the pillow Iwaizumi lobbed in his direction.

“So, are you going to ask me whatever it was you were planning, or can I get back to my article?” reopening his laptop screen and looking over to the brunette, who was fiddling with his shirt hem.

Ah.

Whatever it was he must’ve thought there was a high chance Iwaizumi would refuse. Good thing too, Iwaizumi was getting to the interesting part of the article when Oikawa decided to go for it.

“How would you feel about being my fiancé?”

Scribbling down some of the suggested exercises “…your what now?” he replied somewhat distractedly. Ever the invasive one, Oikawa moved so he was literally in Iwaizumi’s face. He smelt vaguely of salonpas and the same hair product he’d been using since he was 15. The idiot was probably overworking himself again and skimped on his stretches post practice.

“Be my fiancé for two hours!” Iwaizumi stopped at that and looked up; dark hazel eyes meeting gleaming brown orbs.

This was so typically Oikawa; launching straight into whatever endeavour or plan he’d cooked up with no pre-emptive explanation. And as always, he wouldn’t give all details right away so Iwaizumi would have to bite and prod further.

“Why would I want be your fiancé for any amount of time?” Iwaizumi’s eyebrows came together; an automatic response to Oikawa’s nonsense that seemed to be an involuntary reflex, now ingrained deeply into his physiology.

“So we can eat free cake of course! It would look pretty sad if I went to a wedding cake tasting by myself. Not to mention unrealistic,” he looked properly at Oikawa.

The brunette plopped himself across from him on the couch. He was smiling his get-Iwaizumi-to-go-along-with-my-every-command smile. It hadn’t changed much from the one kid-Oikawa used to beg him to come search the skies for UFOs at 2am.

No, he wouldn’t cave this time.

“Let me get this straight, you want me to pretend to be engaged to you just to get free cake?”

“Isn’t it such a great idea Iwa-chan!”

“No,” they were adults now, Iwaizumi needed to stand his ground.

“You only have to pretend to be my fiancé for two hours,”

“I said no, Shittykawa,”

“BUT FREE CAKE!”

“It’s abusing the system Fattykawa!,”

“Mean Iwa-chan!” he whined, pairing it with his classic pout. “I just thought it would be a nice way to spend our time off and I’ve always wanted to try western-style cakes,” he looked away now, a small frown gracing his lips.

The years have certainly been kind to Oikawa. His skin was ever so slightly sun kissed and he seemed to have filled out a bit more since the last time they saw each other at Iwaizumi’s graduation ceremony. Oikawa had skipped practice to fly over to California. Apparently, he’d gotten an earful about when he got back to Argentina.

_*****_

_“If I wasn’t so scared, I would’ve found coach’s face hilarious Iwa-chan! Coach’s face reminded me of Mizoguchi’s when he’d find Kunimi slacking off but ten times angrier”_

_He’d flown almost 12 hours to see Iwaizumi graduate, shown up with hair more tousled than usual, eye-bags extra prominent and brandishing a giant bouquet of flowers._

*****

Once again, Iwaizumi felt himself sighing, this time defeatedly. Oikawa’s eyes took on a sharp glint at that. Like he could see into Iwaizumi’s mind the moment his resolve started to waver, and he was planning how best to hack at it until said resolve crumbled.

Iwaizumi would never admit this to anyone, but a big factor in his agreeing to Oikawa’s every whim was that he hated to see the brunette sad. Not only was an unhappy Oikawa unbearable to deal with, but something about the candid smile that formed when Iwaizumi relented did stupid things to his insides. And that hadn’t changed much over the years. If at all.

Oikawa steamrolled forward, not wanting to lose what momentum he had. “Like I said it’s free! And the session isn’t that long. We can go get a bite to eat beforehand. How about Agedashi tofu at that place you liked?” _Hook._

“And there’s a volleyball match at 5:30 tonight between UC Irvine and Long Beach State! You wouldn’t miss alma mater playing wouldja?” _Line._

“Come on Iwa-chan~ it’s been sooo long since we’ve properly done something fun together,” puppy dog eyes shining, smile at maximum wattage. And _sinker._

Iwaizumi didnt stand a chance.

At least he tried. 

Not wanting to come off as soft, Iwaizumi pretended to consider further. “How are you an athlete when all you think about are sweets and milk bread. Now, more than ever, you should be mindful of what you put in your body,” he would probably continue this age-old berating of Oikawa to take care of himself until they were both old and grey. If it wasn’t his eating habits (or lack thereof), it would be about sleeping habits, or overworking his body, not taking proper care to rest his knee the list went on…

As if he expected this, Oikawa grinned, flashing his signature peace sign, “We all need some glucose in our lives! It helps with brain function Iwa-chan, you should know this~” Iwaizumi rolled his eyes a bit at this.

“Alright fine,”

“Great! I’ve already called ahead and booked us a session for tomorrow at 1pm. Let’s get food at maybe 12 then head to the tasting. Yay! I’m so excited for this Iwa-chan~” springing off the couch, he skipped toward the bathroom and missed Iwaizumi’s jaw hang open at the sheer nerve of him.

Unbelievable.

_*****_

“Oh! I didn’t know you had clothes other than gym gear and sport polos Iwa-chan,” Oikawa smirked the next morning at Iwaizumi donning the wool grey sweater his mum had given him for Christmas last year.

During a tiny moment of clarity pre-coffee, Iwaizumi decided to swap his usual pick, the aforementioned sport polo, for a warmer and dressier top. He glared at Oikawa, who was fussing over his own navy sweater making sure the collars of the shirt underneath are sitting right. Not awake enough to reply, he made his way to his coffee machine. Ella Fitzgerald's 'Bewitched, bothered and bewildered' played softly in the background.

This was Iwaizumi’s morning for the past few years; gym, shower, jazz, coffee. The routine provided structure that helped keep him grounded during those early years in a new country with different customs and a different language.

“Coffee?”

“Yes, please Iwa-chan~”

He grunted in response and went about making Oikawa’s coffee flavoured milk with what seems like 6 teaspoons of sugar. 

Oikawa Tooru, 24, setter for CA San Juan, lover of all things space, sweet tooth that rivalled that of a toddler who just discovered sugar. Said toddler was now crinkling his nose at Iwaizumi’s mug, like the black beverage personally offended him. “Iwa-chan what is this you’re listening to, as if it doesn’t make you wanna sleep despite that black obscenity you’re drinking,”

Glaring over the rim of his mug “Look you can diss my coffee preferences all you want, but don’t you dare disrespect Ella, Assikawa,”

“Wow first-name basis already Iwa-chan! You don’t call me by my first name, and we’ve known each other pretty much all our lives,” Oikawa huffed as he nursed his mug.

After putting on their coats and shoes, they leave the apartment and made their way to Iwaizumi’s car. A graduation present from his parents, the car was christened “Ao-chan” by the current passenger, assumedly due to its blue colour. Iwaizumi could feel himself smiling a little as he reversed out of the building’s garage.

He was would never admit it to Oikawa’s (or anyone's) face, but he found his friend’s penchant for nicknames a little endearing. Missed it even during his years abroad, as all his American friends called him ‘Hajime’. Over the years, he found that underneath his initial annoyance, a dormant adoration lay and often lent itself to most, if not all matters pertaining to Oikawa. Those years apart made it easier to ignore these thoughts and feelings that would sometimes arise. He would quash those feelings whenever they arose, deeming them unnecessary and unrealistic. No use fantasising about what he couldn’t have. Oikawa was his childhood friend.

That’s all they would ever be. All they ever could be.

Once they had a quick meal, they reached the bakery 10 minutes earlier than their appointment. The shop front was nice and simple, black print lettering that read “Bake My Day” against clean white. The inside looked cosy and inviting from the windows. Iwaizumi was a bit surprised, half expecting Oikawa to choose a gaudy place that bordered on pretentious.

Oikawa looked contemplative for a second “We should probably act like an engaged couple when we go in Iwa-chan. Feel free to hold my hand at any time and act like you’re madly in love with me!” and Iwaizumi sputtered, unable to reply as he was pulled into the bakery.

Stepping inside, they were greeted by a jingling bell to signal their arrival. The lighting cast a warm glow over the shop, complimenting the wood panelling that lined the counters and the floor. There were a few tables and chairs throughout the space as they entered. To their left was a long series of counters displayed an incredible array of baked goods; everything from small intricate desserts, to delicate slices, to behemoth full-sized cakes. Oikawa’s eyes sparkled as he surveyed the counter. Iwaizumi would never have believed that a person’s eyes could sparkle, but here was 185 cm of living proof of it. The eyes were truly the window to the soul, a window which Iwaizumi had become accustomed to looking into over the years. Only then would Oikawa’s true emotions behind the saccharine smiles be revealed. At the end, was a register where a woman was wiping down the counter. The myriad of bread rolls and loaves lining the back wall made for an inviting backdrop.

“Hello and welcome to Bake My Day! How can I help you gentlemen today?” she beamed, looking between Iwaizumi and Oikawa enthusiastically. Iwaizumi can almost hear Oikawa switching on the charm as he flipped his hair and smiled dazzlingly.

“Hi—,” he said in English, peering at the nametag pinned to her dark green apron “—Josie~ I think we spoke on the phone the other day? About the cake tasting for Tooru Oikawa at 1pm,” and with this he linked his arm with Iwaizumi’s, gripping his bicep.

Is this what he meant by acting like a couple?

After consulting an iPad at the counter, she hummed in assent. “Oh yes of course, right this way you two. We’ve set up a separate space for you to taste at your leisure,” and turned to gesture them both to follow toward the back of the shop. “On the phone you told us to pick the flavours to taste, so I just chose the most popular ones I hope that’s okay?”

“Yes that sounds great, thank you!” Oikawa replied with a smile. “Hajime here doesn’t have much of a sweet tooth, but I made him come along anyways,” he glanced at Iwaizumi, sliding his hand down his arm and entwining their fingers. Iwaizumi tried to ignore the stupid uneven beating of his heart at the sound of his given name and the feel of Oikawa’s long fingers between his. Why was this affecting him like this? Stupid arrhythmia.

“Oh, what a wonderful fiancé! We have many options here I’m sure we’ll find one that’ll suit your tastebuds,” Josie addressed Iwaizumi with another sweet smile.

Iwaizumi stiffened a bit and clenched his teeth “I can’t wait,” he felt Oikawa lightly squeeze his hand at that. He looked way too happy, grinning beatifically at Iwaizumi’s reaction to his blatant physical affection.

Fine. Two can play at this game.

“So when is the special day?” inquired Josie, as she retrieved a pitcher of water and some glasses. She gestured toward the table and they sit down, Oikawa still firmly clasping Iwaizumi’s hand.

“Hmm we were thinking of maybe a spring wedding, weren’t we honey~” he crooned and fluttered his lashes prettily at Iwaizumi. Stupid Oikawa with his stupidly long eyelashes.

Not wanting to be deterred, he reached out to tuck a small tuft of hair behind Oikawa’s ear and summoned the sweetest voice he could muster.

“I would marry you in the dumpster right now darling,”

The look on Oikawa’s face made the corny words worth it.

*****

“That’s a lot of cake,”

It’s the only thing Iwaizumi can utter when confronted with the tray of perfectly cut cake slices. Each flavour had a little white sign with the flavour combination written with a little flourish. He felt Oikawa’s excitement through the little squeeze (or maybe spasm) of his hand, still tangled with Iwaizumi’s. Other than the calluses they both gained from all those years of volleyball, Oikawa’s hand was otherwise smooth. Iwaizumi tried not to think too much about how well their fingers slotted together, almost like the piece of a puzzle.

Is he planning to let go anytime soon?

“So these are our most popular flavours, feel free to dig in and start with whichever you’d like,” Josie said, giving them some small plates and forks. They both halt a bit, not sure which to taste first. Iwaizumi finally felt his hand being freed as Oikawa examined the baked goods, tapping the fork against his lips.

“Which do you wanna try first Iwa-chan?” he turned to Iwaizumi. Not continuing with ‘Hajime’ huh. Instead of looking at the cakes, he found himself just looking back at the Oikawa.

Were his eyes always this warm a shade of brown? They were always large and expressive, but Iwaizumi never really focused on the colour. Until now. They were like chocolate right now; syrupy and dark and decadent. Not unlike the two chocolate cakes in the tray. That he was meant to be choosing from. Oikawa and Josie were looking at him expectantly, the former raised his brow slightly at his deliberation

Just choose one goddammit.

“Uh, maybe this one,” he pointed blindly to a slice. It was the plainest looking one with a cream coloured frosting between its layers and on the top. The sign in front of it read: “Vanilla buttercake with vanilla bean buttercream”, and it was delicious, simple but done well. Oikawa seemed to agree as he hummed happily, ingesting another forkful.

“Did you two have a rough idea of how many guests you’d be catering for,” Josie asked politely, settling down in another chair at their table. His fork with the “chocolate hazelnut mudcake with chocolate buttercream” midway to his mouth, Iwaizumi froze at the totally reasonable and relevant question. They probably should have discussed details or prepared a story beforehand.

“Oh just our families, closest friends from our school days, and maybe some colleagues,” Oikawa offered breezily and took a sip of his water. “Was there anyone else you wanted to invite Iwa-chan?” he looked at Iwaizumi, tongue darting out to get the tiny bit of frosting he missed on his upper lip. Iwaizumi found himself mindlessly following the action with his eyes.

Focus.

He tore his gaze away from those stupidly soft looking lips. “Ah, I think that about covers it. We don’t have a confirmed number yet unfortunately,” he was getting better at this, brain seeming to function again.

And so, it continued like that, Josie asking questions, Oikawa answering smoothly and asking some of his own to keep up the charade.

(Where was the venue? _They weren’t sure yet, but somewhere open and outdoors maybe._

Do they charge for extra decorations and do they make cake toppers? _Yes they charge a bit more for sugar flowers, marzipan figurines and all that_.

Is there a way for buttercream to hold if the weather is unexpectedly warm? _Ah they usually would recommend fondant for wedding cakes during hotter weather so the structural integrity isn’t compromised_.)

Iwaizumi grunted in agreement occasionally when prompted. Oikawa seemed extremely prepared and was getting into the nitty gritty very convincingly. Like they were actually getting married. The fleeting thought that he wouldn’t be unhappy if they were engaged for real crossed his mind unbidden.

They made it through five of the seven flavours displayed when instead of feeding himself, Oikawa held the fork up to Iwaizumi’s mouth, cocoa eyes twinkling.

He’s joking right…

They held each other’s gazes, neither of them backing down. After a few seconds hesitation, Iwaizumi opened his mouth and leaned forward to accept the offered fork. His eyes not breaking contact with Oikawa’s as he closed his lips around the cake and slowly pulled off. He chewed and tried to ignore his cheeks heating up.

Why was his body betraying him like this? He doesn’t remember the last time he felt any semblance of a blush. It must be the room. Being quite small, all the people and furniture made it a bit stuffy.

Only after he swallowed did he realise how good the cake was. “White chocolate mudcake with vanilla bean buttercream _”_ was his favourite out of the others they tried. The other flavours kind of blurred together to him.

Was it because Oikawa fed him?

Preposterous. The flavours just worked well together. And even someone without a sweet tooth (read: Iwaizumi) could admit the cake was wonderfully moist.

“Ooh that one is my favourite so far I think!” Oikawa announced with a big grin. “Did you like that one Iwa-chan?” the fork made another landing into his mouth and the corner of his eyes crinkled in what had to be pure unadulterated joy. Iwaizumi felt his heart truly skip a beat and he grabbed the glass of water, taking a large gulp.

This Oikawa, with no mask or veneer of pretend, with his captivating smile and the little scrunchy eyes. This was the Oikawa that Iwaizumi would think about on those lonely nights in California, laying in his dorm room whilst the sounds of a party raged on outside his window and missing home. 

“Yeah I like this one too,” he mumbled quietly as he too, took another bite of the delicious combination. “The sweetness of the white chocolate in the cake compliments the dense fudgey texture really well. And the buttercream doesn’t outshine the cake itself, like the Cointreau did in that chocolate one,” Iwaizumi found himself saying much to his surprise. And to the obvious surprise of the two other people in the room who were looking at him with wide eyes. 

Good lord what has he become.

“T-that was very well put,” stammered Josie, still in a bit of shock from Iwaizumi’s sudden eloquence. “Well this is the last flavour to try! Caramel mudcake with white chocolate buttercream, one of my favourites,”

As they both eat their morsels, Oikawa made a noise that somewhat resembled a moan as he swallowed. At that stupidly erotic note, Iwaizumi was unable to stop his traitorous brain from imagining other scenarios that would elicit such sounds. Gritting his teeth, he chewed the rest of the cake and tried to erase the images in his mind. What would Oikawa think if he knew what thoughts a going through his mind.

Iwaizumi mentally shook his head, as though he could shake away the images forming. What was going on with him today?

“I take back what I said before, this one is my favourite for sure!” his ‘fiancé’ gleefully declared. That little innocent smile and squinty eyes once again adorning his face.

A tiny smear of the buttercream remained on the side of his mouth and without a second thought, Iwaizumi grabbed Oikawa’s chin gently and wiped the edge of his mouth with the napkin. His eyes lingered on Oikawa’s lips before traveling up to meet his eyes; dark mocha eyes widened a touch before giving way to a scarlet flush that crept across cheeks.

Not knowing what to do with his hands after that, Iwaizumi promptly stabbed another piece of cake and shoved it in his own mouth.

Shit why did he do that? His body kind of reacted without thinking, which seemed to be a common theme for today. Still feeling an undercurrent of awkwardness, Iwaizumi decided to act as normal as he could and revert to his usual gruff self. His default.

“I liked the one before more,” he grunted, taking another swig of water. He was fine.

“Well I liked this one a bit more, so I think this is the one sweetie,” back with the pet names, great. And of course, Oikawa had to go with the sweeter option of the two. His insulin must be working overdrive. He blinked innocently at Iwaizumi, but he wouldn’t fall for it. Not this time.

“Not all of the guests have such a sweet tooth as you, _dear_ ,” iwaizumi injected as much distaste as he could into the endearment.

“But it’s caramel and white chocolate! It’s a match made in heaven mi amor—,” he clamped his mouth shut and averted his gaze.

Iwaizumi found himself blinking at that one. He’d taken Spanish as an elective in his last semester as a surprise for Oikawa, so he knew what that meant. Hell, he knew before he took that class. What he didn’t know was why Oikawa seemed to panic for a moment that the affectionate name slipped out.

They were just pretending for the sake of the tasting, weren’t they?

“Ah…well we have a solution for this!” Josie laughed. “So we’re still unsure on how many guests you have, but you can have multiple tiers for your cake. And that way you can one of each flavour on a separate tier, so it’s a win-win!” she looked at both of them, smiling widely.

Iwaizumi certainly didn’t feel like he’d won anything. Except maybe a whole new level of affection for the man sitting next to him. All those years together and apart did nothing to diminish the fondness he’d always felt towards Oikawa. If anything they seemed to have become more intense throughout the entire two days they’ve spent together so far. and they really amped up the intensity during this hour long cake tasting. 

Iwaizumi could only smile. He was in it deep, with no hope of getting out.

Shit.

**Author's Note:**

> Yeah so this was meant to be a one-shot, but I got a bit carried away lol. It’s honestly been e o n s since I wrote anything that wasn’t scientific in nature so forgive me for any mistakes grammatically wise or coherency wise (or even characterisation wise). I wrote most of this whilst avoiding working on my virology paper because I’m a serial procrastinator oops. Instead of reading a 9-page paper on adenovirus latency, I watched a bunch of wedding cake tasting vlogs on YouTube ~~(also anyone willing to pretend to be MY fiancé/e for free cake hmu)~~
> 
> Please accept my somewhat mediocre foray back into the creative writing community and let me know what y’all think xx
> 
> ### Next up:
> 
> Aftermath of the tasting: cue more pining and inner turmoil.


End file.
